Babubhai Jashbhai Patel (9 February 1911 - 19 December 2002) was the chief minister of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

state in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He held the office twice, first time from June 1975 to March 1976 as the leader of

Janata Morcha The Janata Morcha ("People's Front") was a coalition of Indian political parties formed in 1974 to oppose the government of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Congress (R) party. The coalition was an integral part of the popular movemen ...

and the second time from April 1977 to February 1980 as leader of

Janata Party The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nati ...

Early life

He was born on 9 February 1911 in

Nadiad Nadiad is a city in the state of Gujarat, India and the administrative centre of the Kheda district. The city is managed by the Nadiad Municipality. It is known for the Santram Mandir, the Mai Mandir,

, Gujarat. He was a lawyer. He joined

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

in 1930 when he was in college. He went to jail seven times, till 1942.

Career

He was a cabinet minister in

Bombay state Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...

from 1952 to 1957. After formation of Gujarat, he lost from Cambay in 1962, but was elected to

Gujarat Legislative Assembly Gujarat Legislative Assembly or Gujarat Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Gujarat, in the state capital Gandhinagar. Presently, 182 members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected from single-member cons ...

in 1967 from Nadiad, lost from Nadiad in 1972, won from Sabarmati as NCO candidate in 1975 but lost from there in 1980 as Janata Party candidate, and won from Morvi in 1990. He held several ministerial posts in Gujarat over his political career. In 1974,

Chimanbhai Patel Chimanbhai Patel (3 June 1929 – 17 February 1994) was an Indian politician associated with Indian National Congress and Janata Dal, and a former Chief Minister of Gujarat state in India representing both those parties at various times. Patel ...

resigned from the post of Chief Minister due to

Nav Nirman ''Navnirman Andolan'' (Re-invention or Re-construction movement) was a socio-political movement in 1974 in Gujarat by students and middle-class people against economic crisis and corruption in public life. It is the only successful agitation in t ...

movement and assembly was dissolved. Later when elections were held in June 1975, Babubhai Patel became the Chief Minister of the first non-

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

government of Gujarat on 18 June 1975. He led the coalition of parties known as

. After a week,

emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

was imposed by

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

but he continued till March 1976 when Congress toppled his government. He again became CM leading

from 1977 to 1980. He shifted his cabinet to

Morbi Morbi or Morvi is a city in the Morbi district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is situated on the Kathiawar peninsula. , the city's population was determined to be 194,947. The city is on the Machhu River, from the sea and from Rajkot. H ...

for six months during

1979 Machchhu dam failure The Machchhu dam failure or Morbi disaster is a dam-related flood disaster which occurred on 11 August 1979. The Machchu-2 dam, situated on the Machchhu River, Machchhu river, failed, sending a wall of water through the town of Morbi (now in ...

disaster. He became a cabinet minister who headed

Sardar Sarovar Dam The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a concrete gravity dam built on the Narmada River in Navagam near the town of Kevadiya, Narmada District, in the state of Gujarat, India. The dam was constructed to provide water and electricity to four Indian states ...

project in Chimanbhai Patel government in early 1990s.

Death

He died on 19 December 2002 at Gandhinagar.

Recognition

* Vallabhbhai Patel Vishva Pratibha award by Vishwa Gujarati Samaj.

References

External links